Salad Days
by lychee loving
Summary: What misadventures can one five year old get up to in the mansion? / Chapter 5.2 - Jean drops hints like bombs, Scott continues to be obtuse.
1. Bobby

_Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, or Frozen. The former belongs to Marvel, which is owned by Disney now, so I guess they're both Disney property!_  
_Also, spoiler warning for the ending of Frozen. (All will be explained!)_

* * *

Bobby had recently volunteered to help maintain the Institute's ledgers. He was a few years into his Accounting major now, and when the Professor offered to pay him, he waved it off and claimed it was good practice. It took a bit of clever work to balance books that contained expenditures for both maintaining military planes and weekly groceries after all.

The mansion's residents who knew him from his teens were a bit surprised at how he took to it, considering all the antics he used to get up to... The antics he _still_ got up to, technically, though they happened less often now. As with the other X-Men who'd decided to pursue college-level education outside the mansion, he wasn't home as much. And when he was, he usually had some work to accomplish. It was probably close to the only thing he took completely seriously, punching numbers, so when he sat down to work, people respected him enough not to disturb him.

Which brought him to the rec room, alone except for the couple of logbooks spread out in front of him. This was one of his rare afternoons off in the week, so the rec room was relatively quiet for the time of the day. It was just after lunch, meaning the younger mutants were still at the high school, the older ones were either away at campus or had some other affair to see to, and the senior staff were busy with their own X-related administrative work. Which meant the only person who could conceivably bother him was...

"Uncle Bobby!"

A head popped up from behind him, beaded ends of her stark white micro braids tinkling by his ear.

Bobby blinked, and then grinned at the minuscule version of Storm smiling brightly up at him. "Hey, kiddo. Your mom know you're here?"

She shook her head, braids swaying with the motion. "Nope. I just had a nap, an' her an' Daddy are downstairs." She climbed over the back of the couch impatiently. He knew that look. It was the one she wore when she was bored. Most of the mansion knew it well. It was the look that could talk Rogue and Laura into sitting down to a tea party, or Remy into helping her with a coloring book, or Scott into driving her into the neighboring city to visit her best friend Sarah Rogers.

Bobby steeled himself for whatever it was she wanted from him, remembering the last time she used it on him to help her finish a pint of ice cream before dinner, or that time she begged him to let her ice slide through the halls. But this time, all she did was turn her big blue eyes up to him and ask: "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Bobby's careful look became a vaguely amused smile. He hadn't seen the movie, but he was friends with enough girls to know a _Frozen_ quote when he heard one. He looked outside. It was nice and cold out, but since it was nearly March, there wasn't much snow to play in. And what little there was wasn't exactly snowman material.

He spared the ledgers a short glance before shutting them with one of his trademark conspiratorial smiles. "Do you haveta ask?" He got up, picking her up with one arm easily amid her startled laughter. "Let's get you bundled up 'fore we go out there though, okay? The cold never bothered me, but I think your folks might kill me if I let you catch a cold..."

-x-

By the time Storm and Wolverine had finished with the Danger Room and found them both outside, Kendall was about done with the snowmen. The two parents stood just outside the door, watching their little girl stick a carrot onto the last of her snowmen (she had a small army by now.) And by the sound of it, she was narrating the entire plot of her new favorite movie to her new favorite friend.

"... so after that, Elsa isn't afraid of her powers anymore! And she uses her powers to make cool things! Like ice all over the ground, and then her and Anna and Kristoff and Olaf all go skating on it and it's so cool. Do you think you could do that, Uncle Bobby? So we can skate any time we want to?"

"Sure could, kiddo. Right after I make your ice castle, right?"

Kendall nodded eagerly and stretched out her arms. "A really big castle! And a magic ice dress!"

"Dunno about that last one, K-girl. I dunno the first thing about dresses." Bobby laughed, rubbing his hands together. "Let's see if I can't make you that castle though, okay?"

"Okay!"

Logan shook his head with a grin as he watched Bobby Drake ice up a tiny castle from the ground up, to the delighted squeals of his little girl. Beside him, Ororo smiled fondly.

"Looks like Kendall has a new favorite friend," she murmured, laughing as Kendall immediately launched into a five year old's rendition of the movie's big solo number. Bobby kept pace with her, raising walls and spires of ice around her as she spun and ran about.

"I coulda seen this coming." Logan grunted, eyes never leaving Kendall. She was a little ball of excited energy, but she was also running over ice. Bobby could be trusted to keep her from slipping, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried anyway. "... She ain't shut up about the movie since you took her to see it last week."

"I expected it as well. All week it's been, _When is Uncle Bobby coming to visit? _and, _Can Uncle Bobby play Frozen with me yet?_"

Across the yard, Kendall struck a pose under a majestic archway made of crystal ice. "_The cold never bothered me anyway,_" she proclaimed.

Bobby had whipped out his phone in time to snap a picture of the little girl before she spun on her heel and disappeared into the small castle.

"Remind me to ask Drake for that picture." Logan grinned, finally marching towards the pair. Ororo followed after him, her own quiet laughter trailing behind them.

* * *

_... This was supposed to be a meaningful oneshot about the similar themes between the movie and the X-Men, but I got distracted. _

_ I might turn this into a series of Kendall's misadventures with the mansion residents. Who doesn't want to read about Laura and Rogue talked into a tea party, amirite?_


	2. Remy (ft Piotr)

"Is this even eatable?"

Remy looked up from where he was serving up another bowl of his famous (Infamous, if you asked the rest of the mansion, but that was okay. They just didn't know any better.) _tripe creole_ to Piotr. It was their turn on the babysitting roster, and today that meant looking after Stormy's little one for lunch while she was giving the fliers a lesson on the physics involved in performing mid-air rescues, and Logan was off on one of his Avengers field trips. Thinking about Wolverine's whereabouts made Gambit scowl a little bit. Kendall always got terribly antsy when her father was away with the "other team." It was a bit of separation anxiety she had yet to outgrow since Logan was away now and then. Not as often as in the old days, and not nearly for as long as he used to disappear... but still often enough to upset Kendall. Thankfully, Logan had taken to bringing her back souvenirs whenever he was away for a couple of days, to appease her. This helped give her something to look forward to, but also made her all the more antsy for her father to return.

Which meant dealing her while he was actually away a challenge. This week she was going through a phase of being particularly picky about what she ate. Everyone was giving their own suggestions as to what she might like to try, and today Gambit had decided on a bit of good old Cajun cuisine. Which brought them to the here and now, where she was pouting down at the food he'd put before her and eyeing it suspiciously.

"... Edible, _lastochka_," Piotr corrected gently from across the counter before Remy could speak up. "And yes, it is." The big, hulking man looked up as Remy passed him a bowl of his own. It smelled good, yes, but Piotr still couldn't get past the idea of being fed tripe. Tripe! "At least, I think it is."

Remy crossed his arms, one hand still holding onto a wooden spoon. "F'course it is. Don' lissen to the tin man, petite. Your Uncle Remy ever steer you wrong before?"

"No..." She shook her head slowly, still frowning a little. Still, it was hard to miss her misgivings. Maybe he should have thought twice about serving her tripe, of all things...

"Give it a try, eh? Promise ya it's good." Gambit grinned, nudging her shoulder playfully and setting the chef's hat he wore over her own head. She giggled. "An' if you don't like it, we make ya somethin' else."

She looked up at him hopefully. "Mac and cheese?"

"Only if you do not like it, Kendall." Piotr advised with a quiet chuckle when she frowned again. "Your mother told us you could not have any more macaraoni and cheese." It was all she'd wanted to eat for the past week. Ororo was putting her foot down and trying to get her back to eating food that didn't come in a box again.

"But I never seen this before." Kendall pushed the stew around with her spoon. "It looks weird. I don't wanna eat it."

"I have not seen this before, either." Piotr said, smiling. "But I will try it anyway. I think Remy would feel bad if we did not. He worked hard on making us lunch."

Remy straightened, likely about to protest that he barely worked hard on anything. (Why would he need to work hard when he was naturally so good at things in the first place, after all?) But Piotr sent him a sharp look, and Remy sighed silently.

"... Real hard, petite. Poured my heart an' soul into it, hopin' you'd like it." He drawled, giving her a charming smile. Kendall looked up at him, completely convinced.

"Well... I guess I could try it." She said after a moment's hesitation.

"Bon. Tha's my girl." Remy bowed in thanks.

"We can try it together," added Piotr, lifting a spoonful of the food and prompting her to do the same. She did. "Ready?"

She nodded, and put the spoon to her lips.

-x-

Logan returned a few days later. This last mission with the Avengers had taken them to North Korea, of all places. He couldn't contact the mansion while they were getting the job done, so all he really wanted was to get back home to his family. He'd taken a little doll dressed in a blue and gold _hanbok_ for Kendall, and any quips Stark and Barton had for him about playing with dolls were stopped when Steve took a doll in red, white and blue for his own little girl.

By the time he made it back to the mansion, it was just about dinner time. He was looking forward to a quiet one with 'Ro and Kennie up in their loft, but the smell of gumbo had him curiously detouring to the kitchen. Most of the mansion had agreed that Remy was only allowed in the kitchen sparingly. Most of the mansion couldn't handle how hot his food tended to get.

"Daddy!"

He expected to be run down by a blur of braids and tiny arms, but Kendall was standing on a kitchen stool by the stove. Remy was hovering behind her, helping her pour hot sauce(?!) into a bubbling pot of... something. Logan wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Hey, punkin. What'cha up to?"

"Helping Uncle Rems cook my favorite gumbo!" She beamed, then drew her hand back from 'Uncle Rems', hopping off the stool so she could give her dad a proper welcome home.

While he finally got the tackle he was expecting and waiting for ("_I missed you! Whatcha get for me! Did Uncle Steve send me anything!_"), he shot Gambit an accusing look. "Since when'd you have a favorite _gumbo_?"

"Don't look at me, homme." Gambit grinned. "Can't help it that your _petite fille_ has better taste'n you an' everyone else in this house."


	3. Hank

Hank had been on the second floor landing, on his way to his room for some much needed rest after an all-nighter down at the lab when he heard it: _Thump. Thump. Thump_.

He looked up curiously, wondering what the cause of the strange noise was. How odd. It was about nine in the morning, so the mansion was mostly empty. The younger mutants were all at school - Logan and Scott and Kurt had yet to return from driving all the younger ones down to Bayville High, the others were away at campus - the Professor was away on a conference, along with Piotr for company (and protection, should he need it.) He'd seen both Jean and Ororo in the kitchen on dish duty when he passed by to grab whatever he could of breakfast earlier, and Rogue mentioned needing a work-out down at the gym. Laura, he knew, was off doing a perimeter check, and Remy had accompanied her. Erik was usually in the administrative office by this time, and that was downstairs. So, by process of elimination, that left one possible culprit.

Hank continued up the steps, turned down the hall towards the attic and stopped short when he saw Logan and Ororo's little one very carefully taking the stairs from the loft down, one step at a time, backwards, while tugging on a heavy canvas bag with her hands. She dragged it down with her with every step she took. All in all, it didn't look very easy, or safe, with the way she teetered every now and then.

"Oh, my stars and garters. Kendall!" Hank loped forward, pace driven by sudden alarm. "What in heaven's name are you doing?"

"Uncle Hank?" Kendall looked up, surprised. She didn't even hear him coming. As she twisted around to get a better look at him, she lost her footing and missed the edge of a step.

"_Woah_-!"

A pair of warm, fuzzy arms caught her before she could fall any farther. Oof. She looked up at concerned gray eyes on a blue face, and smiled sheepishly. "Hullo, Uncle Hank."

He tried not to smile, tried to keep a stern frown as he looked back at her. But her big blue eyes were making it rather hard. Despite his best efforts, he shook his head with a small, exasperated grin.

"Hello yourself, little troublemaker." He tweaked her nose for good measure. Kendall giggled. "Just what were you up to?"

"Mama said I could play in the Rec Room!" Kendall replied earnestly.

Hank quirked a smile. He'd never dabbled into child psych, so seeing children's reasoning in action like this tended to amuse and surprise him all at once. He nodded patiently. "Alright. Is that where you were headed?"

She nodded. "But I got my blocks first."

Well, that explained the bag in her arms. She'd kept it clutched in her arms, but as soon as Hank went down the remaining steps and set her back on her feet, she put it back down on the floor. It did look heavy for a five year old. Hank moved to relieve her of her burden, but Kendall misunderstood.

"But she said I could get one toy!"

"I know, sweetness," He patted her head, shifting the bag to one arm. "But it seems that you could use some assistance getting it downstairs. Please remember to ask for help next time, alright? As much as I enjoy the pleasure of your company, I must say I would rather spend time with you outside the infirmary, than in it."

"Okay..." Kendall frowned slightly, but nodded her head. They started down the hall, and Kendall slipped her hand into Hank's free and much larger one easily, without a second thought. Hank smiled warmly, always touched by her trust in such a simple gesture.

-x-

Jean floated the last of the pots and pans into their respective cabinets with a smile of satisfaction. "There. All done!"

"Finally." Ororo added with a soft chuckle, wiping down the sink with a dishrag. Between her rain clouds and Jean's judicious use of telekinesis, clean up time was often cut half. It still took a while, naturally, considering all the mouths they had to feed in the morning rush. But at least it didn't take as long as it should have.

Jean stretched her arms up, in a good mood after finishing something productive. "I think I'll go start on those work-ups Dr. McCoy wanted me to look at." Jean had started doing lab work alongside Hank down in the research labs after she graduated a few years ago. She'd wanted to be a doctor, initially, but had forgone further schooling so she could be in the mansion more reliably. But with her degree in genetics, she'd been more than a great help to both Charles' and Hank's research, and helping Hank at the infirmary wherever and whenever she could. "What about you, Storm?"

"I suppose I'll check on Erik. With Charles away, he'll need some help wading through the paperwork left behind." Ororo paused thoughtfully, looking at the clock. "After I see what Kendall's up to, at least. She may want a snack before lunch."

Jean nodded and waved goodbye as the two women parted ways in the hall. Ororo headed for the Rec Room, pausing in surprise a few feet away when she heard two familiar voices instead of just one. She shook her head, smiling.

"- Can we make it taller, Uncle Hank?"

Ororo stopped by the door, grinning at the sight of Kendall sitting on one of Beast's broad shoulders. She was carefully adding another block on top while Beast adjusted the ones below. The block tower was much taller than what Kendall usually made, and was supported by an odd assortment of curious things at the bottom. Books, pens, an empty box of Twinkies. Anything to ensure the tower was structurally sound.

"Taller still, my little engineer?"

"Yes! Rapunzel's tower is really tall. The prince has to use her long hair to climb up. Because he can't fly like Mama, or climb like you or Spider-Man, or poof up high like Uncle Kurt..."

"The poor fellow. He could have greatly benefited from a mutation, hmm?"

"Yeah." Kendall was silent for a beat. And then: "... Uncle Hank, why don't I got a mutation?"

* * *

_(A question to be answered some other time, hehe. Thanks for reading!)_


	4. Kitty, Jean

Most people could tell who had a say in dressing Kendall for the day. It was Logan when Kendall's clothes were utilitarian - sneakers, a plain tee and jean shorts were good enough, as far as he was concerned. But if her clothes went together in an outfit that was not only functional, but possibly also in complementary colors, it was probably Ororo's doing. And if she dressed was in a completely matching set - like skirt and bolero jacket of the same material and color, or the infamous lightning-print shirt with the matching socks - it was almost always thanks to Kendall's big sister Laura, who didn't really believe in mixing and matching clothes when they already came in sets.

At five years old, Kendall was starting to assert herself and pick out her own clothes every now and then (i.e. when she remembered she could do that.) Kitty figured that today was one of those days as she stepped into the kitchen, looking for a snack and instead found the little girl dressed in colors that clashed horribly. Really horribly, Kitty thought with a grin, but in an endearing sort of way. Today's outfit consisted of: the tie-dye shirt that Jubilee helped her make a few weeks ago in hot pink and bright yellow, a bright red pleated mini skirt, knee-high socks in black and blue polka dot print, and an over sized plaid button-down shirt in hunter green that Rogue got her for her last birthday. All in all, the end result was a little bit like a rainbow had a party in her closet.

And as if that wasn't nearly enough color for Kendall, she was busily fiddling with a set of paints on the kitchen counter. Kitty didn't see anyone else in the room with her and for a brief second, she wondered where Kendall's appointed babysitter had wandered off to. The mansion wasn't exactly the best place for a curious small child, and Ororo was adamant that Kendall was watched at all times lest she somehow found her way to the sublevels. So for Kendall to be by herself right now was a bit curious, and Kitty figured if Logan found out that she'd been left alone at all...

Her thoughts were brought to a halt, however, when Kendall brought a small brush dipped in pink over to the refrigerator. Her reflection stared back at her and, using the clean surface as a mirror, Kendall carefully brought it to her face.

"- Kendall!" Kitty lept forward suddenly. Kendall startled, and the brush in her hand dragged a line across her cheek. She stared up at the older girl, blinking big blue eyes in confusion.

"Auntie Kitty!" She frowned and put her hands on her hips. For a split second, Kitty was eerily reminded of Ororo. "You scared me!"

Kitty grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sweet pea. I just got here and was, well..." She brought her hand to the pink streak on her brown cheek. "What're you doing, putting paint on your face?"

Kendall lifted a hand of her own to hover over Kitty's. "I wanted to be pretty. Like Mama!"

"Like Mama?"

Kendall nodded. She moved Kitty's hand away and set her palm over the still-wet paint and rubbed. When she peeled her hand away, it left a smear over her cheek. Kendall turned back to the refrigerator to examine her handiwork. "See? Like Mama."

Kitty gave her a critical look. A beat passed, and then she snapped her fingers. "Oh! You mean like, make-up!"

But Kendall was already putting a second blob of pink paint over her other cheek.

Kitty laughed, shaking her head. She leaned forward to gently keep her from putting any more paint on her face. "C'mon, kiddo. Let's get you cleaned up, kay?"

"But..." Kendall pouted a bit, and Kitty remembered how Kendall felt about baths. Ororo had guessed that it was something she got from her dad, since Kendall didn't mind actually being clean as long as they used some very mildly scented soaps and shampoo. It didn't register as a mutation when they had it checked, but Hank was wondering if perhaps it was something that preceded it.

Kitty lifted a finger, leaning in as if to share a secret. "If you let me get this stuff off your face, I'll let you borrow some of my make-up. How about that?"

The little girl frowned thoughtfully. On one hand, soap smelled weird. Kitchen soap smelled even weirder. But Auntie Kitty probably had some really pretty colors...

She nodded. "Okay. But don't use the weird soap!"

-x-

Jean came running into the kitchen after that, Kendall's missing babysitter. Apparently she remembered she left an experiment unattended and had to run downstairs to turn it off real quick. She was only gone about ten minutes when Kitty found her way to the kitchen, but apparently that was just long enough for Kendall to get into trouble. When she returned and Kitty had briefed her on what she'd promised Kendall, she decided that she would help out.

They brought the little girl to Jean and Scott's room, since Jean had the larger vanity and the private bathroom. Kitty made a quick trip to the loft, sneaking Kendall's gentle, no more tears baby soap, then to her own room to get some basic, neutral-colored powder and a light blush. Nothing too fancy, or anything that might irritate her skin. By the time she returned, Jean already had her seated beside the sink.

"You know, Kendall, you're already very pretty. Just like your mom."

"Daddy says that too!" Kendall swung her legs to and fro from her perch on the bathroom counter. "But he likes it when Mama puts on the make-up."

"Puts the make-up on," Jean corrected, running a small hand towel under some warm water. Kitty leaned by the door, not wanting to disturb them just yet.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Kendall said impatiently. "Daddy likes it. 'Specially the lipstick." She smacked her lips together for emphasis. "And sometimes Mama kisses me and Daddy and then there's lipstick on _our_ faces too! Sometimes it gets on Daddy's mouth." Kendall grinned. "It's funny."

"I bet it is," Jean grinned right back. "I'm just saying that you're _already_ pretty, sweetie. It's okay to want to try something new and to put a bit of make-up on, but don't forget that, alright?"

"Okay," Kendall nodded. "But can you still make me look like a princess?"

"Sure, if that's what you want," Jean said, tenderly brushing some of Kendall's braids behind an ear with a laugh. "But just this once, okay? Your dad's probably going to have something to say about you trying make-up so young..."

Kitty grinned. She could hear Jean's biological clock ticking from across the room.

_I heard that._ Jean thought loudly, grinning before she even turned to face Kitty.

_So? You're not even denying it!_ When Jean didn't answer, simply taking the soap from her hands with a little smile, Kitty had to laugh. _Ooh. Someone better warn Scott._


	5. Remy & Rogue

_**The Boys Discover That Kendall Makes A Very Good Cupid**__ (__**Part 1 of 4**__)  
Remy would never admit to needing help when dealing with a woman, let alone 'his' woman. But maybe he wouldn't refuse help if it came from his favorite niece. _

* * *

Let it be said that there was no one more confident in the art of romance and seduction than Remy LeBeau. No one in the Institute, at any rate. Most knew this and came to accept it as fact. The man could make any woman blush with his sweet words in his soft, Cajun twang - even if a slap (or a punch to the gut) tended to follow shortly afterward. He was a born flatterer and a flirt and had a gift of knowing just what words a girl wanted to hear, or denied wanting to hear. He liked making the_ femmes_ feel beautiful, he would reason out, and had no qualms of letting them know, and often.

It used to be that this worked in his favor. His lifestyle before coming to the X-Men wasn't exactly a secret. It wasn't _well-known_, either, but most had an idea of what he was like before he joined the team. Even years later, after it had become obvious that (though his eyes sometimes wandered) his heart belonged to one Southern belle with a lapsing goth phase, people still had a hard time separating Gambit from the image of sweet-talking playboy who left a trail of broken hearts behind him. It probably didn't help that both he and Rogue had trust issues a mile wide. The resulting on-again, off-again nature of their relationship led most to second guessing the nature of their feelings - mostly Remy's feelings, but that was largely because a lot of the mansion was very protective of Rogue, if for different reasons.

It wasn't easy, and there had been times that Remy was close to giving up - just up and leaving and making his way elsewhere. He'd served enough time with the X-Men over the years, surely. Maybe it was time he left, tried to make it somewhere else. This wasn't the only place he could do good, and he would eventually find another place where he wouldn't be miserable.

Storm was usually the one to talk him out of it, calling him out when he exaggerated his so-called trials and tribulations (which was often), and reminding him that he'd made a home and a family in the X-Men. She and Piotr (and yes, Rogue, but in a different way) had played big parts in his first years on the team, even if it had started out with the Professor putting the two young men under her care and supervision. She eventually took to calling them her "little brothers", which amused him to no end, but also warmed his heart more than he would ever admit.

It was nice to know that he had someone he could talk to who wouldn't judge his past and, as he would later learn, could even relate to his past (the look on his face when he discovered Stormy could keep up with his shop talk when he once described a heist to her!) Storm was the one he turned to when he needed someone to listen to his relationship troubles, and she was always the one to help him set things straight. So, after she and Wolverine had their little one and her time for him diminished by a fair amount, he'd been a bit put off. Of course, it was hard not to be charmed by Kendall even a little bit, so he couldn't bring himself to resent her for long. Remy knew his heart was done for the moment he met the little girl. He expected to be protective of her, but he hadn't expected to gain another counselor in the form of a precocious, but highly observant, child.

(Really, though, he shouldn't have been surprised. This was _Ororo's_ child after all, even if she shared blood with Wolverine.)

He couldn't remember how it even began, but he wagered that it was probably over one of their coloring book sessions. He and/or Piotr would sometimes sit down with Kendall and a mess of coloring books and crayons, and though they usually had conversations fairly standard for a five year old, they were often surprised to discover how valuable the perspective she provided them both with was.

Currently it was just him and the little troublemaker. Remy had just come back from a mission that left him hurt and unconscious for about half a day, and Hank wanted him in the infirmary so he could be monitored closely. Kendall was allowed to visit him after he'd been awake for some time, and she opted to bring her coloring books and her brand new box of crayons (a box of 96, as she was all too happy to inform him) while she kept him company. Hank was close by in his office, in case they needed anything, but they were alone for the most part.

That was all well and good, since Kendall had a way of making anyone and everyone in the mansion talk. After she'd appropriately ooh'ed and aah'ed at the IV bag he was hooked up to, and the fancy buttons his bed had, they found themselves coloring sea animals, and talking about how Rogue wouldn't talk to Remy after she'd stormed out of the medbay that morning.

"But Rogue loves you, Uncle Remy!" Kendall insisted without looking up from her clownfish. It was orange and yellow, because Kendall didn't like leaving anything uncolored, and who used white crayons anyway?

"Yeah, _petite_?" Remy grinned, putting his own crayons down in favor of propping his good elbow on the table and resting in his chin in his hand. The other arm lay in a sling. "How do you figure?"

"Because," She continued. "she's always worried about you!"

"An' I'm always worried about you, _petite_."

"Yeah, but that's not true _love_-love." she said impatiently, trying hard to explain. "Rogue's mad like the time when Mama got mad when Daddy got hurt bad, an' he waked up like, "Hi darlin!" and Mama said, "That's all you have to say?""

Remy tried not to laugh at her impersonations of her parents' voices. "Y'lost me there, Kendall."

"Mama says she's not really mad," she continued, matter-of-fact. "She said she's 'upset' because Daddy got hurt real bad, an' he thought that was okay and she was just, um, really worried."

Remy watched her trade her orange crayon for 'hot magenta' and then started on a jellyfish. He turned her words over in his head. "A'right, so, Rogue's just upset?"

"Upset's not nice, Uncle Remy." Kendall informed him. "Mama says so."

"I know upset's bad, _petite_." he said, shaking his head and reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Jus' means I been lookin' at this the wrong way."

"I guess." Kendall shrugged, and then pointed her crayon up at him. "Say: 'I'm sorry!' and, 'I won't do it again!'"

Remy wasn't sure if she knew what exactly he'd be apologizing for, but he was starting to see it now. It wasn't like he got hurt on purpose - it was part of the X-Men life, after all - but it happened often enough that he guessed he took it a bit for granted. And that didn't mean Rogue appreciated it when he made light of things like life-and-death situations like he tended to. Like today.

"Advice noted, _petite_." he laughed, reaching out to tickle her side. "What would I do without you, _hein_?"

Kendall giggled.

"Be sad and miss Rogue a lot!"

-x-

That evening, Ororo was putting up Kendall's drawings on the mini-fridge in the loft when Rogue stopped by.

"Rogue!" Kendall hopped off her seat by the kitchen table and ran for her aunt. She stopped just short of tackling her, rocking back on her feet.

"_Aunt_ Rogue, sweetheart," corrected Ororo, but two voices were quick to interrupt her.

"_Just_ Rogue, Storm." / "It's _Just Rogue_, Mama."

Rogue grinned down at the little girl, tickled by how she tried mimicking her drawl. "Hey, yer learnin'."

"I'm learning!" She chirped proudly, and Ororo laughed.

"I see. Well, what brings you up here, Just Rogue?" Ororo asked, joining the two in the sitting room.

Rogue rolled her eyes playfully. "Ah just wanted to drop by, visit a little matchmaker an' see if I couldn't thank her in person."

"Matchmaker?" Logan walked out of the bedroom. His hair was slicked back and he was still buttoning up the shirt he had on; he'd just come from a shower. "What matchmaker?"

"What's a matchmaker," Kendall asked curiously, still hovering by Rogue's legs. Like Laura, Rogue wasn't much of a hugger. But sometimes they picked her up when they were in good moods, and Kendall was hoping today was one such day.

It was close enough to one, as Rogue bent down to be eye-level with her. "_You're_ a matchmaker, you little cutie. C'mere."

Kendall laughed as Rogue lifted her into her arms, got up, and tossed her into the air playfully. Logan and Ororo exchanged slightly bemused glances; Rogue was in her customary long sleeves and gloves so neither of them were worried about their daughter being drained. But she was being more playful than they were used to.

At their confused looks, Rogue could only grin. "The swamprat an' I had a real long talk. Sorted some stuff out. A lotta stuff." She smiled down at Kendall, then put her back on the ground. "An' that's cool an' all, but I had to ask what brought it on, y'know? Gambit's stubborn as a rock, an' he ain't exactly the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to certain stuff..."

Logan nodded gravely and crossed his arms, Ororo shook her head in amusement. Kendall, who had been looking up at the grown ups, brightened up at the mention of crayons. She took Rogue's gloved hand and started tugging her to their small kitchen so she could show off what she'd drawn with Uncle Remy today.

Rogue followed along, but turned her head back to the two behind them with a wry grin. "Apparently this kid's got the makin's of a counselor. Somethin' she said actually got through that thick skull of his."

* * *

_The hardest part about writing Kendall is figuring out how to do tense inconsistency and pronoun confusion on purpose, haha. Five year olds! _

_Next up on part 2: Jean dropping hints like bombs and Scott being obtuse. _


	6. Scott & Jean

_**A/N:** sorry for the delay in updates! here's a new chapter that I've been sitting on for a while now. _

_also, user ~Shejams asked what "Salad Days" meant! It's an English idiom that refers to "the innocent days of youth."_

* * *

_**The Boys Discover That Kendall Makes A Very Good Cupid**__ (__**Part 2 of 4**__)  
__The open honesty in Kendall's eyes made it hard for Scott to hide anything._

* * *

"So what's on your plate today, Mr. Summers?"

Scott looked up from where he stood by the full-length mirror. He was buttoning the collar of his polo shirt - and was only mildly surprised when the top one glowed a faint pink and promptly undid itself after he'd done it up. He shot the redhead stretched out on the bed behind him an amused smile, one she returned easily. She was always telling him that he needed to dress a bit more casually.

"Well, Ms. Grey," he began, "It so happens that my morning docket's been cleared, since Hank and Forge say the Danger Room won't be up and running til this afternoon at the earliest..." There had been a minor incident during a session the previous evening. Two of the new recruits had energy projection powers of similar natures, and the tempers to match. Individually, the skillsets were impressive. Pit against each other irresponsibly, they caused some kind of chain reaction of short circuits, shutting down the Danger Room in short order. Nothing their resident tech geniuses couldn't fix in a jiffy, but after years of false alarms and accidents, both had become a bit anal about running diagnostics twice, three times in succession. Just to be sure.

Jean's smile brightened and her eyes gleamed. "Oh, well! Considering I don't have anything to do til late either, maybe we could..." Scott could feel the second button of his shirt fiddle slightly. He chuckled, lifting a hand to still it.

"Sorry, Red," he gave her an apologetic grin. "While you decided to sleep in today, a certain someone beat you to reserving my morning during breakfast."

Jean mocked a hurt frown, sitting up. The strap of her nightgown slipped a few inches down her shoulder, though Scott had a feeling that had less to do with gravity and more to do with a gentle nudge of TK. "... Tell them you changed plans?"

Scott held up his hands. "Honest, if it were anyone else, I'd take you up on that offer. But I'm not sure I could have breaking a five year old's heart hanging on my conscience, y'know?"

Like flipping a switch, Jean's mood instantly shifted as she sat up, her nightdress miraculously righting itself in the process. Her smile warmed with pleasant surprise and curiosity. "Oh? What's she got you doing this time?"

"A drive down to the Danvers-Rogers' house," he replied, shaking his head. "Storm was supposed to bring her, but Sam was begging her to help him out with the fliers' class today. She said she'd have loved to, but Kendall needed a ride... And seeing as I didn't have anything to do, I offered to drive Kendall down for her." Scott shrugged. He left out the part where the little girl jumped and squealed like a, well, like a little girl at him. Kendall loved riding in her Uncle Scott's shiny red car.

Jean caught a flash of the memory anyway. She smiled fondly, suddenly overcome by an emotion she couldn't quite name just then. "You're so good with kids."

"Yeah?" Scott rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly under the surprise of the compliment. "I don't know. I like Kendall and all, but..."

Jean gave him an amused smile as she rose from bed. "And Kendall's not a kid, is that it?"

"Well, she is, but - she's different. Storm and Logan, they're practically family." Jean smiled further at that - family. _Yes, exactly!_, she wanted to say. But Scott continued, "Kendall's... different. Kids in general are kind of - they entail a lot of work and attention, you know? "

Jean frowned, and for some reason she seemed to hear alarm bells ringing in her head. "So, you don't like kids?"

"What? No, I didn't say that." Scott ran a hand through his hair in an effort to smooth it down. Were those alarm bells echoing in his head, or was he just imagining things? He gestured vaguely. "I _like_ kids. In small doses, I guess. They're - they have a lot of energy..."

Jean said nothing, giving him a brief look. She didn't seem mad, but Scott just knew that he'd touched a nerve. She turned away from him, heading into their private bathroom to change out of her nightgown. He moved to follow her in, but he'd paused just long enough for her to shut the door behind her. Scott sighed as he stood by the door, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose wearily. What a way to start the day. _Why is she so worked up over this?_

"_I'm_ worked up over this?" came her voice through the door. Scott blinked, and a second later Jean came out fully dressed. _A record,_ he thought in surprise. He must have been thinking pretty loudly, because while she wasn't necessarily mad earlier, she was definitely mad now. Not one to give into temper tantrums, Jean simply glared at him before breezing past Scott and to their bedroom door.

She left the door open this time (Jean didn't like publicly broadcasting her temper that way if she could help it), and Scott followed her out. "Come on Jean, what did I say?"

"If you don't know, then there's no use telling you."

Scott let out a frustrated breath as he followed her down the stairs. Of course he didn't know. Their psychic rapport was stronger than ever, but that didn't mean they knew each other's exact thoughts, twenty-four-seven. And she was the mindreader between the two of them, so naturally-

"That's not an excuse!" Jean huffed, picking up her pace and disappearing into the hall that would take her to the kitchen. Scott was left by the main staircase with the distinct impression that he was missing something.

Behind him, someone cleared their throat. Scott turned around in surprise, only to find Ororo and her little clone only a few feet away. Ororo was smiling at him, a mix of concerned and amused. In contrast, Kendall, holding her mother's hand, was bouncing in place.

"- Thank you again for doing this on such short notice, Scott." Ororo said as Kendall started chattering about how excited she was to see Sarah. "It means a lot."

"Don't worry about it. It's not a problem, really."

"I'm glad," Ororo smiled. Then she frowned slightly, pausing to glance toward the kitchen. "Is... everything alright with you and Jean?"

"... Something I said set her off, I think," Scott shrugged helplessly. "I'm not entirely sure what it was."

Ororo smiled sympathetically. "Would you like me to talk to her?"

Scott shook his head. "No, it's fine. You've got Sam's class to help out with. I'll do that when I get back."

"Uncle _Scott! _Let's _go!_" The purple backpack hanging on Kendall's shoulder bounced along with her. "_¡Vámonos!_"

Ororo frowned sharply. "- What do we say, Kendall?"

Scott watched as a look of thought, and then enlightenment crossed the little girl's features. "Oh. Let's go, please?"

Ororo nodded in approval, then bent down to kiss her daughter's hair and Kendall could press a kiss to her mother's cheek. She did it quickly and noisily before bouncing over to Scott, who just chuckled at her antics. He tucked one hand into the pocket of his jeans, offering the other to the girl. Kendall slipped her hand into his without a second thought.

"Behave for your Uncle Scott, alright?"

"Yes, mama!"

"And be good for your godfather." Ororo added sternly. Steve had a tendency to spoil his goddaughter, especially when Carol wasn't around to rein him in. Ororo knew she was currently off-world.

"Yes, mama!" She gave Ororo a final wave before they headed into the garage.

-x-

"Is Auntie Jeanie mad?"

Scott startled, glancing up at the rearview mirror to look at Kendall. Most of her chatter during the drive had to do with what she, Sarah and Franklin would be doing that day. Something about the present Sarah's Uncle Tony had given her for her birthday a week or so ago, but Scott hadn't really been paying attention. His thoughts were divided by the highway traffic and a redhead he'd left behind.

"Mad? What makes you think that, Kendall?"

Kendall shrugged, looking out the window as a bright green car streaked past them as they slowed to take an exit. It was going really fast. "Did her clock tick loud again?"

"What clock, Kendall?"

"Her biomagical clock! Auntie Kitty said it was really loud last time."

"Bio-_what?_"

"Biomagical clock!" she repeated, frowning as she struggled to pronounce the word. "Auntie Kitty and Auntie Jeannie and Rogue and me painted our faces last time. And then Auntie Kitty said her clock was ticking real loud."

Scott had heard about the now-infamous session the girls had had with the little girl. They'd managed to haul Rogue into things once Kitty let it slip that Kendall's Aunt Rogue used to wear much darker make-up and clothes than she wore now. As a result, Kendall demanded to see a live demonstration; failing that, she was shown photographs and eventually, the little get-together had turned into a small makeover extravaganza. Logan hadn't been sure how to react to seeing his baby girl all dolled up with bouncy curls and a light touch of make up.

He'd gotten all this information second-hand, however. Jean had never mentioned what they talked about, but it seemed that Kendall was only too happy to inform him herself.

"Uncle Scott?" Kendall was looking at him at the rearview mirror expectantly. He cleared his throat.

"... Did you mean biological, Kendall? A biological clock?"

He wasn't even sure he wanted to hear the answer to that - but the way her eyes lit up (_"Yeah, that!"_) made him tighten his fingers on the wheel suddenly.

Man, no wonder Jean'd been ticked off at him.

"It's... complicated, kiddo," Scott finally relented, sighing when Kendall called out to him again in impatience. She frowned, and he hurried to elaborate: "It just means... Auntie Jeanie's been waiting for something for a while. And I didn't know that she wanted it so soon, but I guess I should have." He chuckled to himself quietly. Hindsight was 20/20 - everything she'd said earlier and for the past week or so made sense now.

"So..." Kendall's eyebrows furrowed as she frowned thoughtfully. "So you were gonna give a present to Auntie Jeanie?"

Scott smiled at her choice of words. "Something like that."

"Oh!" Kendall nodded as things were starting to make sense to her. "An' that's why Rogue said you have'ta put a ring on it before you fix her clock."

Thankfully, Scott had just pulled the car into park in front of the Danvers-Rogers townhouse, or else he would have done something dangerous with the wheel. "Kendall, _what?_"

"A ring! That's the present, right?" Kendall frowned, thoroughly confused. "Or is it the clock?"

-x-

In the end, Scott stopped by a florist and got her some hyacinths. It was not (yet) a ring, as he'd told Rogue when she asked him what the occasion was (more accurately, she'd asked him what he'd ruined this time), but perhaps, he thought as he made his way towards the labs where Jean sequestered herself with work when she was mad, it _would_ be a ring sooner rather than later. And maybe then they'd get started on that ticking clock of hers.

Rogue had rolled her eyes, smirking as she headed off in the opposite direction. She had to find Kitty so they could change their bids on the current pool.

_Might have'ta start a new pool too,_ she laughed to herself. Once upon a time, the thought of those two together had filled her with bitterness. But now she couldn't quite stop thinking of how nice it'd be if Kendall wouldn't need such a long commute when she wanted a playmate her age.


End file.
